This quick study on Reformation History was given at the end of service at St. Peter–Immanuel Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, WI, on September 3, 2017. The text of the study is included and you may play the audio of the study here.
Last week, we ended with Luther arriving in Rome in January of 1511. He had expected the golden city, the foundation of the entire Western World, to be a place of great piety and beauty. He wanted to see the relics of the saints, say the prayers, climb of holy steps all in order to win time off for his grandfather in Purgatory. This would have been such an amazing experience for him.
Yet, when he arrived within the city, he saw such iniquity everywhere he turned. There were brothels set up only for the monks. There were drunken priests wandering the city. Everything required money. The piety he desired to show as he prayed before the relics of the saints was interrupted by the owners, hustling the tourists along, all to make more money from the next person.
Now, most of these things, let’s be honest, Luther was used to seeing. There have always been corrupt people in the Church, people who speak one thing and do another. In fact, we all do that to one extent or another. Haven't you ever said to your kids, Do as I say, not as I do? Luther wasn't surprised necessarily by the acts he witnessed; he was, I believe, surprised that Rome, the Holy City, the city founded upon the back of Peter, the chosen place for the kingdom of God to reign in this world until Christ’s return, would allow such things within her.
The Pope was supposed to be the most pious man in all Christendom, ruling over the Roman Church, not for his own power, but out of love for those underneath him. How could such a leader allow his people, his parishioners, really all the people who claimed to be in Christ, do such harm to themselves in this sin? When a pastor knows a parishioner is sinning, shouldn’t he call them on it and not allow them to build a brothel so they’ll have easier access? How much more so then for the Pope?
Luther’s confidence in the goodness of the office of the pope was shaken that day, The Pope, apparently, was not concerned with the salvation of those in Rome, letting them give themselves over to the lusts of the flesh. It began to plant in his mind the idea that maybe, just maybe, the Pope did nothing outside of self-service, nothing that didn’t benefit himself. This thought would continue in Luther until in came to fruition in 1517.
Luther’s trip to Rome was supposed to ease his conscience, give him the ability to find a little peace, but instead, he found only more self torture. Now, one last story of Rome: the steps I keep referring to are called the Scala Sancta, the Holy Stairs, said to be from the palace of Pontius Pilate himself. They are supposed to have been brought over from Jerusalem to Rome by the mother of Emperor Constantine. I don’t know if they are real, I somewhat doubt, but plenty of people still believe that they are. They are still in Rome, encased in wood, and you cannot walk up them, but must ascend only on your knees. Any other way is an offense.
Now, in Luther’s time, and actually still today, climbing these stairs upon your knees would earn indulgences for each step. Sometimes it was nine years, today it’s the entire time for all the sin you’ve committed to that point, and I don’t know how much Luther was expecting to get off for his grandfather. However, as he climbed those stairs, it is said that Luther heard the words, in his heart and in his mind, the words of Paul from Galatians 3:11 echoing, Habakkuk 2:4, ‘The just shall live by faith…” This wasn’t a still small voice, but a thunderous loud announcement. And then he heard it a second time. And he stood up, walked down the steps, and left. He stayed in Rome a little while longer and then returned home, thinking of the Italian proverb, “If there is a hell, Rome is built over it.”
When he got home, Luther suffered under the weight of his sins once again. His father confessor, his own priest to whom he confessed his sins, Johann von Staupitz, had a new plan. He would send Luther to Wittenberg, a brand new city with a brand new university. Perhaps if Luther would focus on academics, he could get off of his theological brooding. He could ignore his sins a little more and just focus on getting some work done. Little did Staupitz know that he just opened the door for Luther to take all of his doubts, all of his concerns, all of his observations, and use them to bring about change on a global scale.
No comments:
Post a Comment